On January 1st, 2026, Bulgaria officially joined the eurozone, adopting the euro as its legal currency and abandoning the lev. This significant change was accompanied by a powerful symbolic choice: on the national side of certain euro coins, the Bulgarian government decided to feature important saints and religious or historical symbols, thereby affirming the importance of its Christian and cultural heritage.
Unlike coins, euro banknotes offer no opportunity for national or religious expression, as they were designed to be identical in all euro area countries, with stylised and neutral architectural motifs to avoid any specific political, religious or national references. This abstract and soulless character has often been criticised. The neutrality of the banknotes contrasts with the personalisation of the coins, which alone allow each euro area country to highlight aspects of its unique identity.
The 2 euro coin honours Païssi Hilendarski (Saint Paisius of Hilendar), an 18th-century Orthodox monk. Païssi was the author of the seminal work Slavic-Bulgarian History, a text that played a fundamental role in the Bulgarian national revival under Ottoman rule, calling on his compatriots to remember their faith, language and national identity. The national side of this coin features his portrait. Engraved on the edge of the coin is the inscription “God, protect Bulgaria”—an ancient motto taken from the Bulgarian kingdom, which gives this coin a unique religious and historical dimension.
The Bulgarian 1 euro coin is dedicated to Saint John of Rila. This saint, the patron saint of Bulgaria, is a central figure in Bulgarian Christianity. Born in the 10th century, John of Rila led a hermit’s life, deeply marked by prayer and asceticism, before founding the Rila Monastery, which over time became the country’s main spiritual centre. On the coin, he is depicted facing forward, holding a cross and a scroll, symbolising both faith and spiritual teaching. The inscription ‘БЪЛГАРИЯ’ (Bulgaria) and the word ‘ЕВРО’ in Cyrillic script on the coin emphasise Bulgaria’s national and linguistic identity in its new common currency.
For coins with lower face values—50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cent—the common motif is the Madara Rider. This is a monumental rock relief dating from the 8th century, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, depicting a horseman piercing a lion with his spear. Although strictly speaking this motif predates the Christianisation of Bulgaria, over the centuries it has become part of the national memory as a symbol of victory, protection and continuity of the Bulgarian state with a Christian dimension.
Thus, through its iconographic choice, Bulgaria has sought to reconcile its membership of the European Union and the euro with the preservation of its Christian and historical roots. With Bulgaria joining the eurozone, for the first time in the currency’s history crosses will be prominently featured on euro coins.
The signal sent by Sofia is clear: participation in the European collective project, often seen as a guarantee of modernity, must not be at the expense of national traditions, including and especially when they are religious. Bulgarian history, marked by centuries of Ottoman rule, now seeks to build on its Christian past of resistance to invaders. Let us hope that the message is well received in Brussels.
